As
we celebrate Red Hand Day every year on
February 12, I will post information about the military use of children from
Wikipedia and other links.
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Red Hand
Day logo (A bright right hand shape. In the center is a sillouette of a small
child in a military uniform and carrying a rifle.)
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Three child soldiers under the age of 17 in Lysychansk
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The
military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take
direct part in hostilities (child soldiers), or they can be used in support
roles such as porters, spies, messengers, lookouts; or they can be used for
political advantage either as human shields or in propaganda.
Throughout
history and in many cultures, children have been extensively involved in
military campaigns even when such practices were against cultural morals. In
WW1, in Great Britain 250,000 boys under 19 managed to join the army. In WW2,
child soldiers fought throughout Eastern Europe, in the Warsaw Uprising, in the Jewish resistance,
and in the Soviet Army. Since the 1970s, a number of international conventions
have come into effect that try to limit the participation of children in armed
conflicts, nevertheless the Coalition
to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that the use of children
in military forces, and the active participation of children in armed conflicts
is widespread.
According
to Wessels (1997), "The use of children in armed conflict is global in
scope—a far greater problem than suggested by the scant attention it has
received. Child soldiers are found from Central America to the Great Lakes
region of Central Africa, and from Belfast in the north to Angola in the
south" ( p. 2). Children are easy targets to recruit for military
purposes because of their vulnerability to influence. Many are seized and
recruited by force whereas others join to escape their reality and
circumstances.
International
law
United
Nations
International
humanitarian law
International
labor law
War
crimes
Nations
and groups involved in military use of children
Africa
Asia
and Oceania
Europe
North
America
Latin
America
Central
America
South
America
Caribbean
Movement
to stop military use of children
History
1800s
and earlier
World War I
Spanish
Civil War
World
War II
Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos
Sierra
Leone
Uganda
Reintegration
of child soldiers
Family
reunification/community network
Psychological support
Education/economic
opportunity
Education
and economic opportunities help the former child soldier to establish a new
identity for him or herself.
Access
to education is one of the most requested forms of support in a post-conflict
environment; however, it is often dismissed for economic reasons.
Access
to formal education remains a challenge for a multitude of reasons:
- the need to earn an income supersedes the desire for education
- the family cannot afford education
- schools have been destroyed as a result of the conflict, or there is a lack of teachers
- difficulty in obtaining documentation to enroll in educational institutions.
- child soldier feel shame for their action and/or there is resentment between the former child soldiers and their classmates.
It
is important to strike a balance between education and economic opportunity.
Key aspects of striking this balance include:
- creation of accelerated formal education program and alternative education models that suit the needs of the former child soldiers
- focusing education on approaches that can generate income, such as market-appropriate vocational training
- inclusion of child soldier reintegration in the post-conflict economic policy of the country in question
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-child-soldiers
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2008 poster by Rafaela Tasca and Carlos
Latuff
PHOTO DESCRIPTION: 2008 poster by Rafaela
Tasca and Carlos Latuff
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11 Facts About Child
Soldiers
- Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by a state or non-state armed group and used as fighters, cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes.
- In the last 13 years, the use of child soldiers has spread to almost every region of the world and every armed conflict. Though an exact number is impossible to define, thousands of child soldiers are illegally serving in armed conflict around the world.
- Some children are under the age of 10 when they are forced to serve.
- Two-thirds of states confirm that under-18 enrollment should be banned to prohibit forced child soldiers, as well as 16- and 17-year-old armed force volunteers.
- Children who are poor, displaced from their families, have limited access to education, or live in a combat zone are more likely to be forcibly recruited.
- Children who are not forced to be soldiers volunteer themselves because they feel societal pressure and are under the impression that volunteering will provide a form of income, food, or security, and willingly join the group.
- In the last 2 years, 20 states have been reported to have child soldiers in government, government-affiliated, and non-state armed groups. Additionally, 40 states still have minimum age recruitment requirements under 18 years.
- Girls make up an estimated 10 to 30 percent of child soldiers used for fighting and other purposes. They are especially vulnerable when it comes to sexual violence.
- The following countries have reported use of child soldiers since 2011: Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Thailand, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and more.
- Despite a government agreement in the District of Chad to demobilize the recruitment of child soldiers, there were between 7,000 and 10,000 children under 18 serving in combat and fulfilling other purposes in 2007.
- The recruitment of child soldiers breaks several human rights laws. Children who have committed crimes as soldiers are looked upon more leniently, crimes committed voluntarily are subject to justice under the international juvenile justice standards.
Sources
- 1
Child
Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers
International. Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 2
Child
Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers
International. Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 3
Child
Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers
International. Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 4
Child
Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers
International. Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 5
Plan
International USA. "What is a child soldier?." Plan USA. Accessed
March 30, 2014. .
- 6
United
Nations Children's Fund. "Factsheet: Child Soldiers ." UNICEF.
Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 7
United
Nations Children's Fund. "Factsheet: Child Soldiers ." UNICEF.
Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 8
"Declaration
on accession to the Optional Protocol." UN General Assembly, Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of
Children in Armed Conflict, May 25, 2005. Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 9
Child
Soldiers International UK. "FAQ." Child Soldiers International.
Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 10
Child
Soldiers International UK. "FAQ." Child Soldiers International.
Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 11
UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "CHAD: Children
conscripted by poverty." IRIN Africa. Accessed March 30, 2014. .
- 12
Ranjan,
Tejaswini. "Children In Armed Conflicts." Journal of Business
Management & Social Sciences Research 2, no. 12 (2013): 32-42. Accessed
March 30, 2014. .
OTHER
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